Justin Verlander feels ‘wonderful’ with Mets debut approaching

Physically, Justin Verlander feels “absolutely wonderful” throwing.

The mental side has proven more difficult recently.

The Mets superstar co-ace, rehabilitating a major low-grade strain in his shoulder, said he had strengthened the troublesome muscle and was “99%” of the way back.

Verlander, whose club debut is likely next week, will have missed his first month with his new team, part of a Mets team that lost four-fifths of its scheduled rotation.

Verlander’s absence which aggravates the depth problem has made the situation more frustrating for the right-hander.

“You see [healthy] guys stretch a bit – it’s frustrating,” Verlander said Tuesday before the Mets played the national championships at Citi Field. “It’s hard for me not to be part of [the team] and not help one way or another.

“But everyone backstage is saying, ‘Wait. Your time will be here. It’s still early. Let’s not exaggerate now. ”

The next step should be the last.

Verlander, who recently threw 43 pitches during a live batting practice in Port St. Lucie on Sunday, will make a rehabilitation debut on Friday in which he will stretch further, likely up to four innings.

The Mets “have a pretty good idea,” Buck Showalter said, of where the rehab mission will come from, though the manager wouldn’t reveal the location.

If all goes well, Verlander could start his season next Wednesday or Thursday in Detroit, where he played from 2005 to 2017.

“Thank goodness the boys played baseball really well,” said Verlander, who added that he had started to increase his speed and was happy with his equipment. “It makes things a little easier.”

The Mets finished their West Coast swing one game behind the Braves despite losses to Verlander, Jose Quintana (left rib fracture), Carlos Carrasco (right elbow inflammation) and most recently Max Scherzer, who was suspended 10 games after his ejection on Wednesday for having a hand that the referees deemed too sticky.

Want to watch a game? The Mets schedule with links to purchase tickets can be found here.

The Mets have kept themselves afloat with a rotation that featured Tylor Megill, David Peterson, Joey Lucchesi and Jose Butto, who was called up to start on Tuesday.

Of the rotation the Mets entered spring training with, only Kodai Senga started each round.

“It’s tough,” Showalter said. “I’m sure we can find someone else going through this somewhere. But… it’s a great opportunity for other people. We were hoping it wouldn’t happen so soon, but thought there was a good chance we’d have to dive into the deep end at some point.

Verlander won’t be fully built and ready for 100 pitches when he makes his Mets debut.

He’s been able to throw consistently since hitting the IL on March 31, which has encouraged him, as did a recent follow-up MRI exam in which “everything looked really, really good”.

Scherzer is expected to join the rotation for the home series against the Braves this weekend.

With Verlander slated to be back in the next series, this year’s version of the Mets’ dream 1-2 punch is about to debut.

It will be delayed, but the hope is that it will last after Verlander tried to stop himself from forcing his return too soon.

“Even though it’s a minor strain, it’s an area you can’t play with,” the 40-year-old said. “He needs to be fully healed before he hits the accelerator. If it’s a hamstring or something different, those things you can go through.

“It’s something that if you jump the gun, you can set yourself back three months.”